Mulan (1998)

The Hun invasion of China provides the backdrop for another fantastic animated movie from Disney.

Young Fa Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) is the only child of Fa Zhou (Soon-Tek Oh) and Fa Li (Freda Foh Shen). Also living with the family is Grandmother Fa (June Foray), who is anxious for Mulan to find a suitable husband.

To that end, Mulan is sent to The Matchmaker (Miriam Margolyes), but after an incredibly accident-prone session, The Matchmaker declares that she will not find a match for Mulan.

Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) and her father Fa Zhou (Soon-Tek Oh).

Meanwhile, invading Huns have breached the Great Wall, and have declared war on the Emperor (Pat Morita) and his entire nation. Under advisement from Chi Fu (James Hong), the Emperor sends out letters of conscription to every family; one man from every family must report to army training to prepare to defend against the invading army, led by Shan-Yu (Miguel Ferrer).

Fa Zhou declares he will fight on behalf of his family, but under the cover of darkness, Mulan cuts her hair, takes her father's letter, and poses as a man, desperate to fight herself.

Aided by a small dragon named Mushu (Eddie Murphy) - representative of her family's ancestors - she joins the battalion led by Li Shang (B. D. Wong), and along with her fellow soldiers, mounts a surprise attack on the incoming Huns.

Mulan (Ming-Na Wen) - now disguised as a man - with Mushu (Eddie Murphy).

The screenplay, written by Rita Hsiao & Christopher Sanders & Philip LaZebnik & Raymond Singer & Eugenia Bostwick-Singer, is quite good. There are plenty of twists and turns in the story to keep even the most discerning viewer satisfied. The characters are all very well constructed, and there is plenty of humour - largely from the strange little dragon Mushu, and Mulan's fellow soldier Yao (Harvey Fierstein) - but at the same time, plenty of high-stakes drama.

As with any great Disney films, there are plenty of songs to keep the plot moving forward. These have been written by Matthew Wilder (music) and David Zippel (lyrics). While not being the best songs from Disney's ever-expanding catalogue, they are certainly adequate for this film. I found the songs for the most part enjoyable and catchy enough to continue to hum the tunes afterwards. They definitely achieve the necessary forward propulsion of the plot that the songs ought to do in the musical genre.

The voice cast are all well-suited in their respective roles. Particular standouts are definitely Murphy and Fierstein, the two main comic characters of the film. I say this primarily because their lines tend to be the more memorable of the film, and their particular vocal eccentricities perfect for their characters.

Leader of the invading Hun army, Shan-Yu (Miguel Ferrer).

The vocal performances in the songs are even better than the performances of the voice cast. Again, as with several Disney animated films of this time period, many of the songs are not sung by the voice actors, but by other singers. For instance, Mulan's singing voice is provided by Lea Salonga, not by Ming-Na Wen who voices the character otherwise.

Directors Tony Bancroft & Barry Cook have made a reasonably enjoyable film here. The quality of the animation is up to Disney's usual standard, though this film is certainly not the best animated film that Disney have made, or even that they have made up until the point this film was made. It is certainly worth watching if you are a fan of Disney movies, and I may well watch it again at some point, though there are other films I would prefer to watch instead.

5 out of 10.

Shrek 2 (2004)

The whole gang are back for another whirlwind adventure, in a sequel that is in fact even better than its predecessor.

Shrek (Mike Myers) and Fiona (Cameron Diaz) are now happily married, and return to their swamp after their honeymoon. They find Donkey (Eddie Murphy) there, as he and Dragon are having some difficulties in their own relationship.

They haven't been home long before they are summoned to return to Fiona's home kingdom in Far Far Away, so that her parents can celebrate her marriage. What Shrek and Fiona don't know is that her parents were expecting her to be rescued by Prince Charming (Rupert Everett), and are certainly not expecting to be visited by not one, but two, ogres.

After making the incredibly long journey - it is Far Far Away after all - they meet Fiona's parents (John Cleese and Julie Andrews). Fiona's mother is a little surprised, but her father is very unhappy about the whole situation.

Shrek (Mike Myers) and Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) meeting Fiona's
parents (Julie Andrews and John Cleese).

He enlists the help of the Fairy Godmother (Jennifer Saunders) - who just happens to be Prince Charming's mother - to help fix what in his mind has gone wrong. He also pays the skilled assassin, Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) to get rid of Shrek once and for all.

However, Shrek and Donkey take a shining to Puss in Boots, and he ends up joining them. Shrek - convinced that Fiona wants someone more handsome and prince-like than he is - steals a magic potion from the Fairy Godmother that makes him and Donkey incredibly attractive.

The potion also transforms Fiona back into the gorgeous princess she once was, much to the relief of Charming, who is now posing as Shrek so that she will fall in love with him, and they can both have the 'happily ever after' they deserve.

Shrek (Mike Myers) and Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas).

The screenplay, written by Andrew Adamson and Joe Stillman and J. David Stern & David N. Weiss, is based on the book by William Steig. The script is very clever, filled with countless references to popular culture and plenty of jokes about fairy tales and childrens' stories. There is plenty here for children to enjoy with the great animation and unique characters, but also plenty for adults to enjoy as well with all these clever references.

The score by Harry Gregson-Williams is written perfectly to complement the on-screen action and the rising and falling tension. The soundtrack is also filled with plenty of classic songs - as was the first film - to please audiences familiar with them.

The quality of animation has improved since the first film, and brings these wonderful characters to life with an incredible realism. Of course, a fair amount of this is due to the performances of the voice cast.

Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) and Donkey (Eddie Murphy).

All the original cast from the first film have returned to reprise their roles, but there are also plenty of new characters to come to know and love, and the entire cast have been hand-picked brilliantly for their voice tone and quality to match the characters they play.

My favourite performers in this film are probably Eddie Murphy and Antonio Banderas, who actually have an incredible on-screen chemistry, despite the fact their lines were recorded separately from each other. There is also a good chemistry between John Cleese and Julie Andrews who, in a departure from standard animated movie procedure, recorded their lines together face-to-face across a studio, giving them the opportunity to play off each other's performance very well.

Directors Andrew Adamson, Kelly Asbury and Conrad Vernon have made a fantastic film here, one that is - unlike most sequels - better than the first film of the series. I can still remember seeing this film on the big screen all those years ago, and it hasn't lost its appeal in all that time. Watching it again for the purposes of writing this review was a lot of fun and a great trip down memory lane, and I'm sure it won't be the last time I will be watching - and loving - it.

9 out of 10.

Shrek (2001)

Shrek (Mike Myers) is a big, green ogre who lives in a swamp. He is very happy in his swamp, primarily because he lives there by himself, just the way he likes it.

But one morning, he wakes up to find his swamp is now inhabited by a whole bunch of fairytale characters, who have all been evicted from their own homes by the evil, diminutive Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow).

Furious at his personal space being invaded, Shrek sets off to confront Lord Farquaad, and on the way, meets up with a talking donkey (Eddie Murphy). Unfortunately for Shrek, Donkey decides he is going to tag along. Even more unfortunately for Shrek, Donkey never shuts up.

When they find Lord Farquaad, he tells Shrek he will return his swamp to its original uninhabited state if he frees the beautiful Princess Fiona (Cameron Diaz) from the clutches of a dragon, so that he can marry her. Shrek agrees, and a great quest ensues.

The screenplay, written by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Joe Stillman & Roger S. H. Schulman is adapted from a book by William Steig. I haven’t read the book, but I would probably be keen to do so; I am curious as to how much of the story and characters actually originated from Steig’s book, and how much is the creation of the screenwriters.

It is a very clever script, filled with countless references to all the various fairytales the characters of the film originate from. I can still remember the very first time I saw this film, sitting on a couch in Hamilton, New Zealand back in 2002. I loved it then, and I still love it now.

Director Andrew Adamson (with co-director Vicky Jenson), who would go on to direct the Chronicles of Narnia films, has made an immensely enjoyable film. There is so much here for young viewers to enjoy, but the real success here is that adult viewers can enjoy it just as much, if not more.

The quality of the animation is exceptional, and the entire voice cast are brilliant. The endless back-and-forth banter between Shrek and Donkey is hilarious; it is impossible to imagine Donkey being voiced by anyone else than Eddie Murphy, his tone and intonation is just so perfect for the role.

There are some big surprises in the later parts of the film (maybe not as much of a surprise now, especially for those who have seen any one of the film’s three sequels; stay tuned for reviews of those coming in the near future), but more importantly, there are some very good messages in here for parents and children to discuss together after watching it.

There isn’t much more to say about this film, except to encourage you to watch it, either for the first time (seriously, where have you been?) or for a second or more time; you notice more and more each time, and it really is brilliant.

9 out of 10.